Examples Of Materialism In The Great Gatsby

Throughout GG and DOAS, the main characters are in search for their identity, wrangling with their past, societal pressures, illusions and desires. Although some charcaters

Both texts explore characters who have created illusory or false identities, influenced by modern American society.

James Gatz’s transformation into Jay Gatsby reflects the materialistic attitudes of 1920s America and the pursuit of wealth and status. The description of Gtasby’s parties at the beginning of chapter three highlights the extraordinary extent of Gatsby;s wealth and materialism. Fitzgerald uses imagery to create a dream-like, magical atmosphere. As if the party is taking place in an alternative reality that transcends the restrictions of the ordinary world.

Willy’s inability to move beyond the person he once was is reflected in his constantly distorted perceptions of reality. Willy’s confused perceptions of reality, where often hallucinating, blur the lines between past and present. Willy is burdened by regret and unfulfilled dreams, clinging to the hope of reclaiming his former successes: “Oh, Ben, how do we get back to all the great times?”. This demonstrates his fixation on an era in which he felt accomplished and significant. The rhetorical question, poses to not be answered directly, though is used to emphasize Willy’s yearning and to allow an audience to contemplate the possibilities of returning to past happiness. The quote also reveals the association Willy has with greatness and Ben. Being abandoned as a young boy, Ben (Willy’s older brother) became the measure of success and manhood that he, and ultimately his sons, aim to live up to. From Willy’s perspective, Ben is, “a great man!” “the only man who ever knew the answers”. This is all due to Ben’s financial success. Hence the parable of the “jungle” is enamoured throughout the novel. “The jungle is dark, but full of diamonds, Willy” : Ben uses the “jungle” as a metaphor for life, and the diamonds symbolise success. Hence Willy urges that “One must go in and fetch a diamond out”, to be

“I've been everywhere and seen everything and done everything”, presents a hyperbolic view, exaggerating Jordan’s covet for exploration and her refusal to be confined by societal constraints.

Fitzgerald toils with the notion that women oppose their representations of passive and submissive “fools” through Jordan’s misjudgement: “Well, I met another bad driver, didn't I? I mean it was careless of me to make such a wrong guess. I thought you were rather an honest, straightforward person. I thought it was your secret pride." The quote employs verbal irony to convey a subtle critique and reveal Jordan’s scepticism; the irony lies in her initial assumption and later, dismissal of Nick's character, further suggesting Jordan is perceptive and can see through facades due to having “seen everything”. This characterization, whilst revealing Jordan’s anguish, highlights her rejection of norms and insistence on maintaining her own identity and standards.

The critic Tony Cavender argues that “women in GG are desperate to live. And to escape Nick’s narrative control of creating the ambiguous attitude of ‘careless women’ in the novel as a whole. However, only Jordan fully segregated herself from societal